Swiss pharmaceutical giant Novartis AG raised its full-year sales outlook because of delays in generic competition to its blockbuster blood pressure drug Diovan, even though it said negative currency trends ...

German drug and chemicals company Bayer AG says net profit rose 75 percent in the second quarter thanks to lower one-time charges and strong sales of new products including anti-clotting drug Xarelto and cancer drug Stivarga.

Pfizer Inc.'s fourth-quarter profit more than quadrupled, despite competition from generic drugs hurting sales of Lipitor and other medicines, because of a $4.8 billion gain from selling its nutrition business. ...

Net profit

In business and finance accounting, net profit is equal to the gross profit minus overheads minus interest payable plus/minus one off items for a given time period (usually: accounting period).

A common synonym for "net profit" when discussing financial statements (which include a balance sheet and an income statement) is the bottom line. This term results from the traditional appearance of an income statement which shows all allocated revenues and expenses over a specified time period with the resulting summation on the bottom line of the report.

In simplistic terms, net profit is the money left over after paying all the expenses of an endeavor. In practice this can get very complex in large organizations or endeavors. The bookkeeper or accountant must itemise and allocate revenues and expenses properly to the specific working scope and context in which the term is applied.

Definitions of the term can however vary between the UK and US. In the US, net profit is often associated with net income or profit after tax (see table below).

The net margin percentage is a related ratio. This figure is calculated by dividing net profit by turnover, and it represents profitability, as a percentage.